FC Dallas and North Texas SC got in a 135 minute workout against five-time UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla on Wednesday. thanks The games were formed as a full 90 minutes in which FC Dallas fell 3-1 to the Andalusian club with a 45 minute game between NTXSC and the Rojiblancos' reserves, which finished 2-1 to the Spaniards. In reality it was three 45 minute games as both sides made wholesale changes at half time of the first game.

Lineup and Tactics

FC Dallas starting lineup vs Sevilla(FC Dallas)

You know the drill. FC Dallas began with a 4-3-3 and largely a first choice lineup. The FC Dallas graphic lists Bressan at left back and Bryan Reynolds central, but those two were switched for Reynolds to continue his run at left back from last week's game with Xolos. Paxton Pomykal started but was feeling his hamstring in the first seven minutes. He made way for Jesus Ferreira at the 35th minute with Ferriera playing the ten spot.

FC Dallas second half lineup v Sevilla FC

The big changes came at half-time as FC Dallas made a further eight subs. New signing Edwin Gyasi got a look down the left wing, with Francis Atuahene opposite. Cristian Colman made his first FC Dallas appearance of the year up front. Ema Twumasi made another run at right back with Reynolds staying left. Alfusainey Jatta made an appearance in the 70th minute, replacing Bressan at center back.

Sevilla line ups v FC Dallas

Sevilla opted for a similar look with a 4-2-3-1. It was a first chance for new head coach Julen Lopetegui to look over recent signings Luuk de Jong ($14.25m), Diego Carlos, Munas Dabbur, Lucas Ocampo ($17.1m each), Joan Jordan ($16m), Oliver Torres ($13.7m), recent Real Madrid loanee Sergio Reguilon and club record signing Jules Kounde ($28.5m).

Sevilla's style is similar to what Luchi Gonzalez wants to achieve with FC Dallas. Maintaining a high line and forcing a low block against them, quick passing, and with players ready to swarm any bad touch or over-hit pass. They spread the play around the back six looking for an opening before pinging a ball out to the wingers or making a pass to the number ten. For FC Dallas it's a great exercise in setting a low block and playing out of pressure, making those Rondos in training count with quick passes and movement into space.

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We learned that there's a lot of things we need to improve," said Cristian Colman. "We need to have more possession of the ball, more than once we lost the ball too easily. [Sevilla] play smooth, one-touch, without complications. We sometimes want to be too individualistic and run with the ball and we don't pass. They don't, they play smooth. We learned that style of play is fundamental for a team.

Goals

22' FCD 0-1 SFC - Former Newcastle United striker Luuk de Jong opened the scoring with a real beauty. The play started from high pressure, forcing Reggie Cannon to try clearing from the touch line, Fernando was able to simply head the ball into the path of de Jong, who lifts the ball over Bressan with his right then volleys past Jesse Gonzalez with his left.

42' FCD 1-1 SFC - This is the kind of Santiago Mosquera we want to see more of. Jesus Navas passes with Ever Banega stepping over to leave it for Franco Vazquez, Mosquera reads the ball perfectly getting in front of Vazquez at the half. He gets around all $28.5m of Jules Kounde with ease and curls it to the far post.

Santi is a player that, when he's healthy and he can get rhythm by playing consecutive games, he's very dangerous," said Luchi Gonzalez. "He scored a fantastic goal tonight, typical Santi type goal. We're really looking forward for him to produce for this club and we want it to show in goals and assists and drawing fouls. He's working to help in transition, defensive moments. I want him to just take the next step in a positive direction, for himself and for the club.

52' FCD 1-2 SFC - Callum Montgomery and Jacori Hayes attempt to win the ball from Alejandro Pozo, with the Spanish U-21 attacker winning a free kick 22 yards out. Joan Jordan does something you don't see a lot of in MLS, and gets the ball comfortably over the wall and back down, leaving Jimmy Maurer scrambling to reach it. Maurer cheated a little too far to his left but that's a fantastic strike that few keepers are getting to.

83' FCD 1-3 SFC - Something else we don't see a lot in MLS led to Sevilla's third - the quick corner. With FC Dallas players still getting back to defend a corner, a quick ball is played out to Roque Mesa. He attempts a cross from deep that Edwin Cerrillo tries to meet. His header falls right to the feet of Pozo who plays a square ball that Nolito slots home.

Thoughts and Observations

It was good to see new signing Edwin Gyasi get a good run out but I want to see him running at players. The Ghanaian had one straight sprint on to a ball and set up a great chance from it. He seemed to option out far too often rather than take the man on. It's likely something that was instructed, but I don't think the high line he took was. His default position was on the last defender and hugging the left touchline. He wasn't checking back to get the ball as much as you'd like. Again, when he did, he created a great chance. Gysai is definitely showing signs of growing into the system, as he directed Bryan Reynolds' off the ball runs a few times. Luchi Gonzalez talks about working on the overlap as well as cutting inside, which Gyasi encouraged Reynolds to do as the right-footed player of the pair.

Brandon Servania is really beginning to excel at that deeper 6/8 role. He's supporting the wing backs and looking like a player who could potentially be the Carlos Gruezo-type lone 6. We've only seen that from Edwin Cerrillo, but Servania held the deeper line allowing Bryan Acosta to play the kind of passes FC Dallas shelled out for. Cerrillo had a decent performance in the second half, bar the mistake for the third goal, but he did suffer with the defense playing him into trouble a couple of times. Sevilla are set up with three men swarming the ball, which isn't ideal when facing your own goal 30 yards out.

The full back experiments for Bryan Reynolds and Ema Twumasi continued, and I'm personally here for it. Switching sides isn't easy, it's counter-intuitive to every habit you have from which side you leave open for a player to the types of runs you make. Reynolds is having no issue at all. A fit Ryan Hollingshead still starts over him in MLS play but I don't see any serious weaknesses. Twumasi is going through the same teething problems as Reynolds did when he transitioned to right back, mostly getting the wrong side of the attacker and over-committing on challenges. He's ahead of the curve for a player who has played there a handful of times in training, and it made for some nice attacking play with Atuahene further up the right side.

There is one other defensive experiment that I'm not sold on. Alfusainey Jatta is arguably the best pure 6 the club has now without Gruezo, and certainly up there with Paxton Pomykal and Thomas Roberts as far as passing. While the hybrid 6/8 spots have some competition, that's by far and away Jatta's best position. Jatta is a serviceable center back but it takes him out of the passing game, and FC Dallas struggle to get passes out of midfield.

We didn't see a lot out of either FC Dallas striker, but it's good to see Cristian Colman physically getting back. Any long term injury can see a year where the player is fit and ready, but still not themself. Colman wasn't the fastest player but he was quick enough to cause trouble, and he had that about him against Sevilla. He's already pushing past Ondrasek in the depth chart.

Truthfully, I'm very excited and happy," said Colman. "After almost eight months, I got to be back with the team. I'm just very excited. I give thanks to God, the person that's been right next to me, pushing me during my injury recovery, which was very hard on me.

On to North Texas SC...

Lineup and Tactics

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Let's start with Sevilla because it's brief. Former Manchester City winger Nolito and a player that Barcelona rated so highly they paid $20m when they knew they couldn't even play him for another six months due to a transfer embargo - Aleix Vidal - both started. At this point Sevilla had worked through a lot of their traveling roster, so they kept a few from the second half against FC Dallas and rotated others back in during the half.

North Texas SC starting lineup vs Sevilla

North Texas SC went with a fairly typical look with Ricardo Pepi and Thomas Roberts both in the side, the big surprise was the two false wings, Pablo Aranguiz and Zdenek Ondrasek. There were two substitutions made as Imanol Almaguer and Callum Montgomery came in for Twumasi and Jatta. The other difference from the FC Dallas shape was the presence of Bicou Bissainthe as a pure holding midfielder while the attacking duo of Arturo Rodriguez and Thomas Roberts played as a pair of more traditional 8s.

Like FC Dallas, North Texas SC held its shape well under pressure. As straightforward as that sounds, Sevilla are playing one-touch passes specifically to pull players out of line and force them into closing down the player and opening a gap.

Goals

12' NTX 1-0 SFC - Joan Jordan fails to control a pass back from the Sevilla midfield. Ricardo Pepi picks it up 30 yards out and makes the run towards goal. He shapes up to shoot, forcing France U-21 defender Joris Gnannon to commit, leaving Pablo Aranguiz wide open on the left for the tapi-in.

45'+1 NTX 1-2 SEV - A sucker punch to lose that late. Roque Mesa takes down a cross-field ball, turns out of a tackle by Aranguiz and lays it back to Guillerme Arana. Arana takes on three defenders and loops a cross in that Munas Dabbur is able to get to before Callum Montgomery.

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Thoughts and Observations

Thomas Roberts and Arturo Rodriguez had a really nice balance. They're both tens but Roberts' future probably lies as an eight. Neither failed in their defensive responsibility, which you'd hope could possibly translate down the line with Pomykal and Roberts playing those roles with Cerrillo, Servania, or Jatta as the holding mid as Bicou Bissainthe was here. Roberts' ability to place a ball on a dime from anywhere on the field can really come into its own there. That facet of his game didn't show much given that Aranguiz and Ondrasek were your false wings, but you can imagine him playing that far back with Gyasi and Barrios to run on to long balls, or Pomykal making the run for the short pass through the middle. It's easy to imagine because it's exactly what Sevilla did in the first period.

I haven't been out to practice in a while to see how Zdenek Ondrasek is progressing, but his defensive play was a real highlight for me. He didn't shirk on tracking back, and held players up well. His hold up play is developing from what we last saw in a competitive game. MLS is a fast league, and he's certainly not a fast player, so he has to play smart and use his body in the right way, which we did see in some exchanges with Pepi. The pair switched spots a few times as they felt out the Sevilla defense. I'd like to see Ondrasek get some game time but he's too far back for MLS at this point, and do you really want to take minutes from the likes of Pepi, Tanner Tessman, and Johan Gomez up front with North Texas SC?

Pablo Aranguiz responded to his red card and demotion to NTXSC exactly how you want a professional to do so. He played fairly well, got back willingly, didn't dive or complain, and took his goal well. We know he's struggling somewhat as a 21-year-old in a different continent far away from his family. He was also brought to Dallas in mind of a different system, one that used a traditional ten. He's adapting and it seems like he's probably been given a talking to that he's sat up and listened to aft the Xolos friendly. Whether he stays or goes, taking a good attitude is something every team values.

Both teams are back at it this weekend. FC Dallas play Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at 7:30 PM. SKC have been rather inconsistent of late, only winning two of their last eight home games. North Texas SC will be at home to South Georgia Tormenta. That kicks off at 6 PM at Toyota Stadium as Eric Quill's side look to extend their lead at the top of USL-1 over the second placed Tormenta.

3rd Degree is an independent, North Texas soccer blog with a focus on FC Dallas.(Buzz Carrick / 3rd Degree)